And It Felt Like A Kiss: Part Eight
by yestermeyesteryou
Summary: Blaine and Puck finally seem to be in a good place, but will the constant appearances of a new face bring them closer or further apart?
1. Everyday seems a little longer

_Disclaimer__: The author of this piece does not, in any way, profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters from Glee belong to their original creators._

___Summary__: Part Eight of the multi-part story 'And It Felt Like A Kiss'. Blaine and Puck finally seem to be in a good place, but will the constant appearances of a new face bring them closer or further apart?_

___Notes____: Will be two chapters in total._

___Enjoy!_

* * *

"So, what are you getting Puck for the big three-o?"

"I was thinking, a watch maybe?" Blaine looked at his brother sitting next to him on the park bench.

Adjusting Emma in his arms, Cooper quirked an eyebrow. "That sounds nice."

"I mean, nothing super fancy or anything but I saw this kind of military-style thing that I think he'd really like. He has a watch, but it's sort of falling apart so I thought you know, why not."

"Having a party?"

"I don't know." Blaine scratched his head before putting on the shades that he kept hanging at the front collar of his t-shirt. "We'll probably go out. I assume him and Sam will want to have some kind of 'who can drink the most Jägerbombs or something equally classy' competition and I kind of want to spare our furniture."

"That sounds like a plan." Cooper cleared his throat, taking a moment to before continuing. "Have you heard anything from Mark?"

Blaine was quick to shake his head. "Nope. I told him we shouldn't speak again so, I assume that's it."

Letting out an ironic little laughter, Cooper stood up to put his daughter into the stroller. "Because he always had such a profound respect of your boundaries and wishes before?"

"Whatever." Kicking some gravel laying at his feet, Blaine rose from the bench. "I'd love to stay and chit-chat with you in the park but I have to leave."

"Alright."

"I'll call you if there's a party or something."

"Please do, by all means. See you."

"See you."

* * *

"Oh good, you're back." Puck greeted his boyfriend at the front door with a quick kiss. "Sam called, wants to know what we're doing Saturday. You know, for my birthday."

Blaine made himself stand a little taller, smiling into Puck's mouth for another kiss. "Isn't that up to you, birthday boy?"

"Apparently, 'cause everyone around me is way too incompetent to put together some kind of surprise party."

Walking into the kitchen, Blaine leaned back against the counter. "I thought you said surprise parties were 'super lame', to put it into your words."

Cracking open a can of Sprite from the fridge, Puck shrugged. "They are super lame, obviously, but it's nice you know, the effort."

"Well, I say we go to the bar? Or what do you think?"

"That's definitely what I think, seeing as it's probably one of my most frequently used thoughts it general."

Blaine smiled at him, taking a sip of the can held out to him. "Glad we settled that."

* * *

"Hey gorgeous."

Blaine turned around in the line at the coffee shop, recognizing that voice from somewhere. Oh, right.

"How's it going, Puck?"

"Actually, I'm Blaine."

Smiling broadly, Sebastian practically towered over him. "Sure, whatever. Hey, what do you and that sweet little backside of yours have planned for this weekend?" He turned towards the woman behind the counter as the space in front of them cleared up. "I'll have large Latte."

"My boyfriend's birthday, I guess. Dinner, going out to the usual bar, that kind of stuff." Blaine took a step towards the cashier. "Just a medium regular coffee to go, thanks." Reaching for the wallet in his back pocket, he felt a hand on his forearm.

"Please, let me." Sebastian pulled out a 20 from the little money clip in his hand, handing it over to the woman behind the counter. "For his as well."

Shaking his head, Blaine dug out a couple of one dollar bills. "I'm not going to let you pay for my coffee." He followed the taller man further down the bar to wait for their orders.

"Why not?" Sebastian just ignored the offering held out to him.

Stuffing the bills back into his pocket, Blaine repeated the shake of his head. "Because, I barely know you. You barely know me. As a matter of fact, the only thing you do know is that I have a boyfriend which you clearly seem to ignore."

"I like that you have a boyfriend. It's a challenge." He looked back at Blaine, who stopped for a moment. "What? I'm kidding, I'm not going to whisk you away. But I would like to suggest a nice little gift to that boyfriend of yours involving yours truly."

Continuing the last two steps down the coffee bar, Blaine shrugged his shoulders as he accepted his order. "Let me guess, a threesome."

"A threesome! You're absolutely right."

Blaine poured a dash of milk into his take-away cup, proceeding to seal it with a lid. "I don't do threesomes. We don't do threesomes."

Taking a sip of his own coffee, Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Are we basing this on experience?"

Blaine let the question go seemingly unheard.

"How about we ask him on his birthday?"

"I'm not going to ask and I don't think he's going to hear you, seeing as you won't be there." The two made their way out of the coffee shop.

"What, did you rent the whole bar?

Looking down, Blaine quickly realized the flaw in his plan as he shook his head.

"So I will be there then, cool." The guy never seemed to stop smiling.

"You know if my boyfriend finds out about all of this excessive flirting he's going to kick my ass. Is that what you want?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I'd like to watch that."

"Correction, he's going to kick your ass. I haven't done anything, I just came to get a coffee."

"And now you'll leave with a brand new friendship."

Laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, Blaine sort of did find the guy pretty entertaining. "Do you have friendships? I mean, with people that you talk to, not people you screw."

"Talking is garbage. You can literally spend hours talking to a person without getting into their pants. Or mouth. Or any other interesting part of them..." Sebastian leaned to the side, clearly checking out Blaine's ass who in turn took a step back.

"Alright, alright. I have to go pick up something now but I guess it was interesting seeing you?"

"Likewise, my friend."

"After what you just said I'm not so sure I can trust you with that word."

Sebastian winked at him before walking off. "Later, killer."

* * *

"What's in the bag?"

"Nothing…" Blaine quickly made it past the living room where Puck was sitting watching TV, and dodged into the bedroom to throw Puck's gift into his closet. Coming back out, he threw a car magazine at Puck. "Here, got you this."

Catching it, Puck straightened up on the sofa. "Sweet, thanks."

"Guess who I ran into at the coffee shop."

"Who?" He turned a page.

"Sebastian. He's really exhausting."

"Yeah, he's hilarious…"

Lowering his voice, Blaine sat himself down next to Puck. "You know, he's dying to sleep with me."

Puck nodded, sort of uninterested in anything but the magazine in his hands. "Everyone wants to sleep with you."

"He checked me out." Blaine was sort of amused by the lack of interest from his boyfriend. "He's probably going to be there tomorrow so, you know. Just so you know."

"It's a free country."

Blaine shrugged, reaching for the remote to find something more interesting than the conversation at hand.

"I guess it is."

* * *

The alarm went off just once before Blaine hurriedly reached for his phone, shutting it off. Glad to see that the loud beep from a couple of seconds earlier hadn't seemed to disturb his boyfriend's slumber, Blaine gingerly rolled close to his side, proceeding to press kisses at his neck, mouth moving onto his chest to straddle him as Puck stretched his arms out, slowly waking up.

"Good morning, birthday boy…" Blaine planted a kiss on his mouth before moving down again, tip of his tongue gently flicking on a nipple.

"Very good morning, indeed."

"I'll make it better in no time, you'll see." Blaine moved a little further down, reaching his hand to direct the one planted on his shoulder to grab onto his hair, moaning against Puck's skin upon receiving a gentle tug. Once he'd reached his destination, he mouthed softly against Puck's hard length through the fabric of his boxers before pulling them down, taking it into his mouth.

"Can it be my birthday every day…" With one hand still firmly planted on Blaine's head, the other grappled randomly at the sheets to his sides.

The sound of a cellphone ringing filled the almost silence, if one would disregard Puck's heavy breathing, of the room, and Blaine felt something suddenly missing from the top of his head. "Do you have to take that..?"

"It's my mom. She's just going to call until I pick up…"

"It's up to you." Blaine let go off Puck, starting instead to kiss the sensitive skin under his bellybutton.

"Hi mom… Yeah, thanks for calling. Just… woke up. Sure, sure… Mhm. I'll get back to you. Ok love you bye bye…" Throwing the phone back on his nightstand, he moaned in response to feeling Blaine's mouth back on him. "She's coming, taking us out to dinner or something in a couple of days…"

"Let's just focus on you coming for a little while."

"Sounds good…"

* * *

"That's a really sweet watch, man." Sam looked enviously at Puck's wrist, who in turn had a bright smile on his face.

"Well, I got it from my sweet boyfriend."

"Lucky you." Sam laughed into his empty glass. "Hey Blaine, where's your brother?"

"He couldn't make it." Blaine tried not to make a face at the third round of Jägerbombs served to their table as he answered Sam's question. "Which is probably a good thing since the two of you make me feel super uncomfortable at birthdays."

"Right, when you got him that big, black vibrator for his 25th?" Puck chimed in before downing his drink.

Sam didn't try to hide the smirk on his face. "Oh, so I see Puck here is familiar with the story."

"And the gift has been well appreciated, so thank you." He smiled behind his glass.

Blaine put a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "I think that's enough talking for you right now."

"Looks like our people are getting a pretty good buzz going." Sam looked over at the little dance floor, currently populated mostly by their drunk friends moving to the music, alternatively hanging around at the bar. "But it's going to take a couple of more of these until I start to dance."

"And how many would that be, exactly?"

The voice came from behind his back, prompting Sam to look over his shoulder to see who it was. "Do you have a studio apartment in the back room of this place or something?"

Sebastian shot him a wink in return. "Right, blondie."

"I'm Sam."

"And if it isn't Blaine and… I want to say Buck? The man of the hour! Happy birthday." He looked over at Blaine. "Did you tell him about our little proposition?"

"No?"

Turning to Puck, Sebastian leaned over the bar table. "I think you already know what I'd like to give you…"

"That's very considerate of you, but I think I'm going to have to pass up on that."

Taking a sip on his beer, Sebastian leaned a little closer. "Well, that's a real shame. But, since we're here I have to ask, on my birthday is it Ok if I borrow your boyfriend for a couple of hours?"

Puck cleared his throat, looking somewhat serious to the rest of the world. "I don't know. How much money do you have?"

In the background Blaine raised his shoulders, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Oh." Sebastian let out a little chuckle as he swiveled the last contents of the bottle in his hand. "I have a lot of money."

"On second thought, I'm afraid it's a no."

"On second thought?" Blaine looked between his boyfriend and their new 'friend'. "How about for my birthday you two get into the back of this bar, where apparently Sebastian has a cozy little condo, and screw each other."

"Feisty. I like it." Sebastian shot another wink, this time in Blaine's direction. "Can I get you a drink? As in, a proper drink, not one of these 'shot glass within a glass' concoctions."

"Guys, I just realized something." Sam seemed proud of his recent discovery. "Jägerbombs are the Inception of cocktails."

Sebastian looked appalled. "How dare a person in their right mind refer that to that… whatever the hell that is as a cocktail?" Soon his attention was once again focused on Blaine.

"Actually, I'd love a beer."

"How about some champagne?"

Blaine quirked an eyebrow. "I don't think they have champagne in this bar…"

"Come on! You deserve a little something special, I'm sure you must be exhausted from putting out all day."

"I'm perfectly fine, actually." He laughed nervously.

"Alright then, I'll get us a couple of beers." Sebastian walked off to the bar.

"Where the hell did you guys find this guy?" Sam sounded hurt, not making it obvious if it was due to his friends' new acquaintance being so irritating, or resentment over the fact that Blaine and Puck had a new friend who was kind of irking dangerously close to his position of being the annoying third wheeler.

Blaine shot a look at the empty glasses around the table. "Gay club."

Sebastian returned with two bottles of beer, handing one over to Blaine. "Oh, and by the way. If anyone is interested I've got a couple of hits of E on me." He patted the breast pocket of his jacket.

Sam shot the guy a look. "Dude, we're in a sports bar."

"I meant for later, genius. What? Are you telling me you aren't going out later? It's your birthday and you're not going to put your hands in the air like you just don't care?" He shook his head at Puck and proceeded to down his beer. "You guys are seriously killing my buzz. I'm out of here." And like he seemed to have made a habit out of doing, Sebastian left three confused friends in the wake of his exit.

"So, anyway…" Clearing his throat, Sam raised his glass. "To Puck!"

Glasses connected over the high table. "To Puck!"

* * *

"It's so good to see you!" Victoria embraced Blaine in a tight hug the second the door opened. "Where's my son hiding?"

"Still at work, but he should be home any minute. Please, come in." Blaine moved to the side in the hallway, helping his boyfriend's mother with her coat to hang it up. "I just made some coffee, if you'd like?" They made their way into the apartment.

"That would be lovely, thanks."

In the kitchen, Blaine took out two coffee mugs from the cupboard.

"But I wouldn't mind getting started on this in a little while…" Victoria opened her purse, pulling out a bottle of red wine with a wink in her eye.

Looking over his shoulder, Blaine put the mugs back into the cupboard to replace them with two wine glasses. "Actually I usually have a glass about this time anyway. Makes my paper-grading more fun. And generous."

She laughed at his comment, handing the bottle over to be opened. "That's my kind of attitude."

* * *

Eventually Puck did come home, just in time to find his boyfriend and mother in a particularly good mood and to make their dinner reservations. They were all in a good mood as they got out of the cab on a street Blaine thought he found familiar.

"I read about this place in a magazine, it's new and it's supposed to be just great. I thought it just might be special enough to celebrate my son's special day. Even though I am a couple of days late…"

"Ma', this place is too much." Puck looked around at the fancy interior as they entered the restaurant.

"Oh stop it, this is my gift to you!"

Soon they were seated down at a table, mother and son arguing away about who should be taking the bill at the end of the night as Blaine couldn't shake the uneasy feeling of having been in this restaurant once before. On a night he wished had never happened. With a person he hoped to forget.

"Can I take your drink order?"

Victoria looked through the menu before scanning the faces around the table. "I assume we're having wine."

"Yes." Blaine answered a little too quickly as Puck nodded, before leaning over to his boyfriend as he let his mother take care of the order.

"Are you Ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Puck looked at him, nodding once again. "Ok." He turned back to his mother. "So, Ma'. How the hell is Ohio?"

They were just through with their main courses and a handful of good conversation and apparently relevant gossip about people, 'My mom's a Yenta' Puck had explained during one of her monologues about her neighbor, as Blaine noticed a couple of suits entering the restaurant, heading for the bar. One of which was carrying a very familiar face. He wondered if he would be so kind and just ignore him, if he saw him. He wondered if Puck even remembered what he looked like.

"Can I interest you in our dessert menu?"

"Sure you can!" Victoria gladly accepted a menu in high hopes, seeing as she had been very happy with the food so far.

Puck grabbed the other two, handing one over to Blaine. "You want ice cream, right?"

Clearing his throat, Blaine threw an empty glance at the options before him. "I'm pretty full, actually." The nerves in his stomach almost made him feel sick, shaking his head in an attempt to not let it show or affect him. He tried on a smile. "But I'll have some of yours…"

After having tried what seemed like every ice cream option on the menu, the mother and son once again argued over who should take the check. Blaine raised his head to speak before being interrupted by Puck. "You're definitely not paying either."

"Ok." He smiled at his boyfriend, who was already turned back to his mother. "I think I'll wait outside if you don't mind…" His company barely noticed as he got up and left, wanting to get out of the place as soon as possible.

Being handed his jacket by the coat check Blaine opened the door to the restaurant, the cold air of the late evening hitting him like a brick wall.

"Blaine?"

He froze, contemplating on simply ignoring the voice coming from behind him, at the same time realizing that he'd have to wait for his company and couldn't simply keep walking like he wished he could. He turned around. "Hi."

Mark spoke with a low voice, having distanced himself from the small group of cigar smoking men looking a lot like him. "Blaine… I'm really sorry about how things turned out last time."

Blaine shot a quick look at the glass in his hand before staring at the door to the restaurant, wishing it would open. "You're drinking again?"

"No, no. This is a seltzer."

Blaine looked down at his shoes, just missing the opening of the door.

"Look, I can't really talk right now." Mark nodded the back of his head against the company behind him.

Looking at the man standing in front of him, Blaine took a deep breath. "I don't want to talk at all. About anything." Over Mark's shoulder, Blaine saw Victoria and Puck, who looked back at him by the line of cabs. "I have to go. Bye." He walked off before Mark had a chance to say anything else.

Puck held open a door for his mother to get in, looking at Blaine over the roof of the car. "You Ok?"

"Yeah. I'm Ok." He climbed into the cab, hugging his shoulders against the cold air.

I'm Ok.

* * *

It was probably three a clock at night. He stared at the glass of water in front of him in the soft moonlight, sitting by the kitchen table. Blaine couldn't sleep.

He could have sworn that wasn't a seltzer, but it didn't really matter anyway. He wondered if he had handled the situation good or bad, deciding that for once there probably wasn't much else that he could have done. He also could have sworn that Mark had been sharing a cigar between himself and one of his buddies. People Blaine thought he recognized, without ever having actually been introduced to anyone Mark had worked with.

He thought about a time when Mark had gotten angry with him for smoking. How he'd wanted nothing more in that moment than a cigarette. And perhaps for the hands on his upper arms to stop shaking him.

"You're awake?" The voice came from the doorway.

"I'm so sorry if I woke you up." Blaine started to get up from the chair, soon feeling a warm hand on his shoulder urging him to stay, followed by Victoria sitting down across from him.

"Don't be silly. I couldn't sleep either."

"Can I get you a tea or something?"

She smiled at him, a concern evident in her eyes. "That's very sweet of you, but no thank you."

"Ok. You know I really wanted you in our bedroom."

"The couch is fine. It folds out just like a bed!"

"But you should be able to sleep. I'll go back to my room in a second."

"That won't be necessary. I always have trouble sleeping when away from my house, it's nothing." She looked over at him as he went back to staring into his glass. "What's your excuse?"

Blaine looked up at her quickly, before rubbing his hands against his face. "I don't know. Probably slept too long this morning or something." He got up from his chair to get another glass, sitting back down and pushing it over to Victoria, along with the bottle of water standing on the table.

"Thank you, son."

The little term of endearment made Blaine's heart warm and nervous at the same time, focusing his eyes on the stream of water hitting the bottom of the glass in front of him.

"So it doesn't have anything to do with that gentleman outside of the restaurant earlier tonight?"

In his sleep deprived state it took him a little too long to come up with an answer to that question, as his mouth sort of hung open while his thoughts ran a mile a minute.

"It almost seemed as if the two of you might have some unfinished business."

Blaine thought about how only a nice, Jewish mother could say those words to the partner of her child without sounding accusatory. "It's finished." This time he managed to look her into the eyes. "It's definitely finished."

She nodded at him, a gentle smile on her lips and a seriousness in her eyes. "That's what I was hoping." She leaned a little closer, almost a whisper as if not to disturb or let anyone in on her secret. "You know, you can get a restraining order if you need to."

A panic shot through his veins as he wondered what and how much she knew and what Puck might have told her, having hoped that his messy history never would reach more than a handful of people no matter who they were. "I, I don't think I need one."

She nodded again. "Ok." Leaning back into her chair, she gave him a look. "Tell me, what's bothering you?"

Blaine honestly didn't know what the next words coming out of his mouth would be, but apparently he was speaking. "It's just. I really try to get on with everything. But he keeps coming back, and I guess on some days I try harder than others. And I'm not proud of it, if that makes any sense."

"You don't want to be with him again." She said it knowingly.

"No, no I know. I don't."

"But he makes you nervous and unsure if it's your own decision or if it's the decision of the people around you."

He took a shaky breath in response.

"You know my husband, Puck's father, he wasn't a very good man."

"I know." This time it was Blaine's turn to nod as he gathered enough strength to look into her eyes, speaking softly. "I know." He saw the sadness she tried to blink away.

"I used to worry, every day. I used to worry that he would turn out like his father. It was always my biggest fear."

Blaine shook his head, not letting go of her eyes. "He hasn't. I don't think he could, even if he tried."

The sadness seemed to fade just slightly upon hearing those words. "Good. That's good." She let out a heavy sigh. "I know that, of course. He's good. But it's good to hear it."

Blaine tried on a smile.

"I always told him to be nice to girls, and I hope he listened to me at least sometimes and I know he didn't always get it right. But I suppose I never told him to be nice to boys too. Frankly, I didn't know."

Smiling more to himself now, Blaine looked down at the table. "He's been great. He is great."

She took a sip on her glass of water. "But it's easy, you know. Getting used to being treated in a certain way. Finding it normal, it happens. And that decision, the one you feel like the people around you made so easily?"

Blaine nodded, keeping his eyes on the table this time.

"It's also the one you made for yourself, and perhaps for you it wasn't easy but it was an important one. A good one."

"I know."

"It took me years to realize it. It took putting my child through harm, and I know it's not really my fault but I feel so sorry about it, every day I feel sorry about it."

There was that sting behind his eyes. He did his best to ignore it. "It wasn't your fault."

"And it isn't your fault either. But I'll tell you something. You don't need him. You don't need to wait for him to look at you until you feel like you matter, because you do matter. I'm sure he loved you and that you loved him, but it wasn't a good love. And I'm sure that he's 'changed', but it isn't for you to experience that change, because he doesn't deserve your patience or for you to forget. He doesn't deserve you, and you deserve so much more than what he can give."

He looked up, letting out a soft chuckle in hopes of distracting from the wetness in his eyes. "I don't know about that. But thank you."

"Well." Smiling at him, she finished her glass of water. "I know." She stood up from her chair, shortly followed by Blaine. "I think I'll go back to bed now."

"Yeah, me too."

"Give me a hug." She took a step towards Blaine, letting her arms around him as he let his arms around her, hearing the shaky breath close to her ear. "You can always talk to me. God knows as well as I do that my son isn't always the most sensitive person in the world. And I heard maybe you could use a little extra family."

He tried his hardest not to let it show as he felt how somewhere in his chest his heart burst into a million little pieces. "Thank you." It was barely a whisper.

She took a step back, hands on his shoulders. "Good night, Blaine. Sleep tight now. And don't think too much."

"Good night." He smiled at her, not caring that one tear managed to escape the corner of his eye, but making sure to quickly wipe it away with the back of his hand. "Good night."

* * *

_TBC_


	2. Every way love's a little stronger

Blaine stood at the airport, watching his boyfriend say final goodbyes to his mother. He got a last wave in his direction before she went off to go through security as Puck came back.

"Come on, let's go."

He was one step behind Puck as they made their way back to the car parked outside, climbing into the passenger seat before they drove off. "I'm really happy she came. It was nice."

"Yeah." Puck nodded, eyes focused on the road. "Speaking of nice, that restaurant was pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah." Blaine paused for a second, knowing what Puck wanted to get at.

"Look, we didn't really get a chance to talk about it."

"I've been there once before. I suppose he goes there a lot."

Puck looked over quickly. "Did he say anything?"

Shaking his head, Blaine looked out at the trees next to the road. "Not really. He said he was sorry about last time and that he couldn't really talk. I said I didn't want to talk."

"I know." Eyes back on the road in front of him, Puck nodded. "I heard. It was good, I think he got it."

"Yeah." Blaine felt a sense of relief in that Puck didn't seem to have any opinions on the brief encounter or how he should have handled it. "Hey, what did you tell your mom about him and me?"

Puck twisted his eyebrows in confusion, looking over quickly. "I haven't said anything."

"You haven't?"

"No? What, should I have?"

Blaine nodded to himself, looking back out the window. "Oh, Ok. No, I was just wondering. Felt like she knew something."

Still seeming confused, Puck shot him another look. "What? Did she say something?"

"No. No, I was just wondering."

"Ok."

Blaine thought to himself that Puck seemed sincere.

"Ok."

* * *

"Why is he so mopey?" Sebastian was practically yelling over the loud music, catching Blaine's attention while pointing at Puck.

"Mother Dearest just left the building." It got him a jab of an elbow to his ribs. "Ouch!"

"Shut up." Puck tried to shoot him a pissed off look, never really managing when he didn't really mean it. "I'm sorry babe…" He kissed his boyfriend on the cheek, getting closer to him on the dance floor as he joined Blaine's hand, rubbing his rib cage.

Once again, Sebastian made his presence known. "Your sex-life must be really exhilarating."

"Shut up, Sebastian…" Puck put his arms around Blaine's shoulders, giving him a quick kiss before looking at his new wrist watch. "Shit… I have to leave, it's way too late. Got an early shift tomorrow." He heard the moan in his ear.

"Come one, stay a little. We barely just got here."

Even Sebastian turned to him in protest. "No, no, no. You're staying. The only thing I'll get out of this club tonight is being in the proximity of other attractive people, and you're not taking that away from me."

"Why don't you stay, Blaine? Have some fun with Sebastian."

Blaine seemed a little confused, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure..?"

"Yeah, why not?" Puck nodded, a reassuring smile on his face before pointing a finger at Blaine. "But no drugs."

Blaine splayed a hand across his chest, taking a step back. "Do I look like I'm going to take drugs?" Somewhere in the background Sebastian was chuckling.

"No, but you look like someone who'll easily fall for some idiot thinking it might be a great idea." He grabbed Blaine once again, planting a kiss on his mouth before speaking into his ear. "And I have every test imaginable easily at hand, so you know I'll find out…"He let his boyfriend wriggle his way out of his arms.

"I'll be fine. It was your idea."

"Yes, yes. I'm leaving. See you tomorrow then, I guess."

"Yes, later. Bye." Blaine let his eyes linger on his boyfriend's back as he walked away, before having his attention stolen by Sebastian.

"So I don't know about you, but I think we should take a hit of this." He pulled out a little plastic zip-lock bag from the breast pocket of his shirt. "If only to see what happens when you fail that drug-test of yours…"

Blaine shook his head, laughing as he rejected the offer. "You know he's not actually going to test me, right?"

A smirk fell on his lips. "Then what the hell is stopping you?"

"I'm not taking ecstasy with you. I'm a teacher."

"So what? I'm an investment banker."

Laughing again, Blaine was starting to feel the rhythm of the music. "Exactly."

The smirk grew into an obnoxious smile. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Or well, I guess it means you can afford to invite me to a round of shots."

Putting the zip-lock bag back into his pocket, unopened, he threw an arm around Blaine's shoulders to make their way to the bar. "That my friend, I guess I can do."

* * *

"I haven't been this wasted in a really long time… I hope you didn't put anything in my drink." Blaine looked up at Sebastian, who pretended to look offended, through playful eyelashes as he leaned against the bar.

"I can't believe you would accuse of something like that." He took a sip of a tall glass of water he just ordered, handing it over to Blaine who eagerly downed almost half.

"You know if you did, Puck is never going to let you baby-sit me again."

Sebastian smiled at him, almost hating the fact that he had the ability to find another person endearing.

"So, you didn't see anyone tonight? You know I'll just go home if you want to get out with somebody."

"Nah…" Sebastian shook his head, taking the glass back to put it down on the bar. "There's only one sort of hot, brooding guy over there but he spent the whole night so far staring at you."

"Really?" Blaine turned around to look around the room, not spotting who he was referring to.

Sebastian shrugged. "Don't know where he went."

"It's pretty late. Or early, I guess, depending on how you see it. I should go home."

Sebastian nodded, looking as he was trying to hide his disappointment. "Yeah, it's pretty late. And you're way too drunk to be seen in public anyway."

Pushing himself off the bar, Blaine stood up straight. "Hey! We had the same amount to drink all night."

"Sure, but I'm like, twice your size." Sebastian put a hand on Blaine's shoulder, starting to walk out the club one step behind him. "Come on, killer. Let's go." They pushed through the crowd to reach the doors at the other side of the club, Blaine feeling his intoxication sort of pointed out to him in the contrast of the cool night as he tried not to stumble down the street.

"Hey… I've been waiting for you."

Blaine felt as surprised being suddenly pulled away by his wrist, as Sebastian felt at Blaine's shoulder suddenly disappearing from underneath his hand.

"Um, Ok?" All of a sudden walking next a tall stranger, Blaine took a step back only to have his wrist pulled back again.

"You want to come home with me?"

Blaine twisted his eyebrows. "No." Stopping for a moment, he fell back into step with Sebastian.

"Dude, it's not going to happen."

"You his boyfriend? I didn't see you make a move all night." The man addressed Sebastian before turning to stand in front of Blaine, blocking their way.

Sebastian shook his head, looking as if he was trying to hold back. "No… But he has one, and I promised to get him home in one piece so let it go."

"I think he can decide for himself." The stranger let a hand on Blaine's shoulder, letting it linger down his arm before pulling on it. "What do you say?"

"I'm pretty sure I said no thanks." Personally, Blaine felt too drunk to even understand the situation.

"You don't know what you're talking about." The guy put an arm around Blaine's shoulders and starting to walk off, albeit very slowly due to Blaine's lack of balance.

"Dude, what the fuck…" Sebastian quickly followed, managing to pull Blaine back, behind him, trying not to hurt him in the process before focusing his attention back on the stranger. "Get out, asshole."

"What the hell is your problem? People go here, people get laid. I'm pretty sure I've seen you on your knees in front of some lucky guys in the stalls in there before."

"That's it." Before he knew it, apparently Sebastian had balled his hand into a fist, connecting it against the other man's face within a couple of seconds who in turn shortly found himself holding the side of his head.

"Fuck! Fuck you, I'm going to kill you."

"Shit…" Feeling a lot more sober all of a sudden, Blaine looked at the sight in front of him as he felt Sebastian grab his arm to pull him away.

"We have to go." The two took off down the street, Sebastian throwing a look over his shoulder relieved to see that the guy was still standing there by the building, leaning against the wall with his head in his hands. He waived at the taxi driving down beside him, pushing Blaine in to get in on the other side.

Blaine gave the name and number of his street, after Sebastian told him to do so, while trying to catch his breath. "Do your evenings always end like this?"

Sebastian let out a relieved laugh, shaking his head. "No. But the good ones tend to."

"I guess I don't want to see the bad ones, then."

Looking out at the drunk people filling the street in front of the bars lined up one after another, Sebastian rolled down the window a little bit, letting in some fresh air. "Aren't you happy I prevented you from having that asshole turn you into a lampshade or something?"

Blaine laughed, looking down at his hands before shooting Sebastian a look. "Thank you Sebastian, for not letting me get turned into a lamp tonight."

He nodded in return. "You're welcome, Blaine. But I mean, I had to punch him out. He basically called me a slut."

Looking sideways, Blaine glanced over at him carefully. "Aren't you sort of a self-professed slut?"

"Sure, I am. But only I get to say that." Keeping his eyes on all those people still falling out of the bars along the street they drove down, he put a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "And good friends."

"I'm not your friend. I know how you treat your friends." He said it with a smile, but for some reason Sebastian still felt a little sting with those words.

The car came to a halt in front of Blaine's building, who proceeded to pull out his wallet.

"Just get out, you idiot. It's fine."

"You sure? You bought me like, one gazillion drinks tonight."

"What good use is all this money if I can't treat a friend to a good time once in a while? I might not be yours, but you can't keep me from calling you mine." He said it with a wink and that signature smile of his; secretly hoping it wasn't obvious how much he meant it.

Blaine started to get out of the cab, nodding as he looked down. "Ok, thanks a lot, man. I had a great time. Until Buffalo Bill showed up, I mean." With one foot out of the car, Blaine turned back to throw an arm around Sebastian in a little hug. "See you."

"You know, you're starting to grow on me. Maybe I just might not fuck you and actually keep hanging out for a change. 'Cause you know, I'm sort of a 'wear it once – throw it out' kind of guy."

"Sure Sebastian. Bye."

"Later, killer."

The cab pulled away with Sebastian in the backseat, sort of proud of how even though he'd spent the evening trying to get Blaine to take a hit of E and ending it with punching out a stranger, he hadn't acted this mature about anything in a very, very long time.

* * *

Opening the front door as carefully as he could, Blaine stepped into the apartment surprised to see the lights in the kitchen on. Soon Puck appeared from the bathroom, toothbrush sticking out of his mouth as he tightened the belt around his jeans.

"So we decided to eventually come back home after all?"

Blaine looked sheepishly at the floor as he walked into the kitchen. "Sorry…"

"Why sorry? Did you have a good time?" Puck shouted from the bathroom he had just returned to, rinsing his toothbrush in the sink before splashing his face with water.

"Yeah. A really good time, actually." Rummaging through the cupboards, Blaine found a glass which he proceeded to fill with water, downing it in one go as Puck came into the kitchen, rinsing a recently used coffee mug in the kitchen sink.

Putting the mug in the dishwasher, Puck turned around to face Blaine, pinning him against the kitchen counter to give him a kiss on the cheek. "And did you behave..?"

Nodding, Blaine leaned back a little with his hands planted on the counter as he smiled. "Yes."

Another kiss on the cheek. "Did he?"

"He did, actually."

Puck moved to kiss his boyfriend's lips. "You reek of alcohol." He took half a step back, wincing humorously.

"Gee, I wonder why?"

"I have to go to work now. Why don't you go to bed."

Letting out a yawn, Blaine nodded again. "Yeah, I'm on my way."

"Should I fix you something to eat?"

Blaine shook his head, pushing himself off the counter to make his way to the bedroom. "No, that's Ok, but thanks."

"Ok. See you later. If you're awake."

Hearing Puck's chuckle from the hallway, Blaine threw his jeans and t-shirt on a chair and crawled under the covers on the bed. "Bye…"

"Later, Blaine."

* * *

"Here's your coffee."

"Thank you very much." Blaine nodded at the waitress setting down a tall cup of one of his favorite beverages on the low table in front of the chair where he sat. He took a sip as he glanced at the open folder laid down in front of him, scanning through a class plan.

"Look who's come back out of the shadows to play."

Looking over his shoulder, Blaine saw the tall familiar figure approach behind him, coming over to sit down on the comfortable chair opposite of his with a tall take-away cup in his hand. "Hi, Sebastian."

"What you got there?" Sebastian took a sip of his cup, nodding at the folder on the table.

"Work. Which I'm going over with Sam who should be here any second now so I can't sit around and talk with you all afternoon." Smirking back at Sebastian, Blaine set his cup back down on the table.

"Alright, I get it. You're a busy man. Anyway, when are we going out partying again?"

Blaine leaned back into his chair, looking over. "I don't know, guess we'll see."

Looking through his lashes, Sebastian mirrored Blaine's move. "Why are you so secretive?"

"I don't know." Blaine shrugged. "Why are you so hyper-sexual?"

"I'm completely normal. When are you going to let me rock your world?"

"Never." Blaine laughed, looking over at the door to the café opening to see if it was Sam, only to see a stranger enter. "When are you going to stop trying to sleep with me?"

"I don't know." This time it was Sebastian's turn to shrug. "Are you seriously, one hundred percent sure that you never, ever want us to have sex?"

His attention now back on the man in front of him, Blaine looked into his eyes. "I am seriously, one hundred percent sure that I do not want to have sex with you."

"Alright then."

Blaine chuckled. "Glad we settled that."

Standing up, Sebastian quickly gave Blaine's shoulder a little shake. "I've got to get back to the office. See you around the bar I guess?

"See you, Sebastian."

And with that the taller man made his way towards the entrance of the coffee shop, only to pump into a confused looking Sam by the door who in turn proceeded to walk over to Blaine's table.

"Are you having an affair?" He sat down in the previously preoccupied seat.

"Yeah. And I picked broad daylight right before meeting a friend as a decent opportunity to engage in it."

Sam put his briefcase down at the floor next to his chair. "I don't know, that guy just seems really full of himself."

"You're really full of yourself."

Shaking his head, Sam reached over the table to steal Blaine's cup of coffee, taking a sip. "Why do you hang out with him?"

"He's pretty funny." Blaine shrugged, giving Sam a second to drink before reaching out to reclaim his coffee. "And I think he's lonely."

"Anyway." Sam looked from his empty hand over to the folder, bringing it over to his side of the table. "Let's do this."

* * *

"Blaine?"

"Yes?" Blaine kicked his feet up on the coffee table and flipped through the channels on the TV as Puck entered from the kitchen, throwing himself on the couch next to him.

"Want to go with me to Ohio next weekend?"

He smiled, deciding that the evening news would do. "Missing your mom already?" A playful shove almost knocked him off the couch "What?"

"Are you coming or not?"

Blaine laughed, looking over at his seemingly annoyed boyfriend. "Yes, of course. Who in their right mind would ever give up the opportunity for trip to Lima?"

Looking over with a skeptic look in his eyes, Puck crawled closer to him on the couch. "And why do you have such an attitude all of a sudden?"

"Do I?" Blaine smiled into the kiss, mischief in his eyes.

"Could it have something to do with the company you've been keeping lately?" Another kiss.

"I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Should I be jealous?" Puck let his hands find their way under Blaine's t-shirt, tracing the skin on his stomach.

"I was kind of wondering why you're not, he's not exactly candid about his wishes."

"Because…" Puck's mouth started kissing along his neck, as hands pushed the t-shirt up his chest, fingertips finding his nipples. "No matter how jealous I'd get, it wouldn't compare to how jealous he is of me. 'Cause I have you, and he doesn't…"

"Oh…" Blaine gasped, both at the revelation and the fingers flicking gently on his left nipple. "So this is all some weird game to you?" He felt a warm chuckle against his neck.

"Nah… he's harmless. All talk and no action. What do you think?"

"He's pretty out there… but he's Ok. And he buys me drinks."

Puck looked down at him for a second, before continuing his attack on Blaine's neck. "Really? Now that I do have a problem with…"

Blaine yelped at the little bite right above his collarbone. "I tried to stop him. I promise."

"Too bad I'm not as generous as he is then, 'cause I won't share…"

* * *

"Hi you two. Finally."

"Sorry." Puck stepped into the house he grew up in after finally being let go of his mother's tight embrace. "Our flight was delayed."

"Are you hungry? I haven't made dinner but I can whip something up if you'd like." Victoria turned to Blaine, giving him an equally tight hug who in turn shook his head as he hugged back.

"We grabbed a sandwich on the way here so we're fine I think." Blaine looked over at Puck who was carrying their bags inside.

"Yeah. I think all we need is somewhere to lie down right now."

Letting Blaine step inside, Victoria kept a hand on his arm as she followed him to the bottom of the staircase. "Well, you know where you'll find that upstairs."

Shortly, Puck and Blaine found themselves in Puck's old room, who was rummaging through his bag for a t-shirt to sleep in as Blaine crawled under the covers. "You know, I think some of our hottest sex ever has been had on this bed."

Looking over his shoulder, Puck pulled a t-shirt over his head before turning to Blaine as he unbuckled the belt on his jeans, climbing on the bed next to him. "Think we can top it?" He started kissing the side of Blaine's face.

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"Tell me something hot…" Puck climbed over Blaine, hands going up and down his sides as he kissed the side of his face, occasionally stealing one from his lips.

Blaine chuckled. "Your abs?"

Straddling Blaine's hips, Puck straightened up only to pull off the t-shirt he had just put on, guiding Blaine's hand against his stomach. "You like that?"

"I do like that…" Blaine splayed both of his hands against Pucks abdomen, fingers gently digging into the skin as Puck leaned over for a kiss. "You tell me something hot."

Looking into his eyes, Puck grinded his hips against the man beneath him. "Your ass…"

"Yeah..? What about it?"

"I want it." Another kiss.

Blaine's eyes were dark with urge, his voice low. "What do you want with it?"

"I want to squeeze it..." Moving down his body, Puck left a trail of kisses down Blaine's neck, mouth moving onto his chest. "And kiss it, and eat it… And slap it, and fuck it…"

Letting out something between a moan and a chuckle, Blaine arched his back against the mattress. "That's a pretty tall order…"

"Luckily I have it on pretty good account that you want all those things as well."

"I do… though probably not all at the same time."

Puck scooted a little further down. "I think it's time for you to turn around and get ready to bite that pillow."

Smiling through dark lashes, Blaine complied. "You're really romantic when you want to be." Getting comfortable on his stomach, Blaine hugged the pillow as he dug his face into it, breathing in the soft scent of foreign detergent while starting to grind his hips against the mattress.

Behind Blaine's back, Puck let a hand pull the back of the hem of Blaine's boxers down just to the swell of his backside as the other went back to his open belt, pulling it rapidly out of the loops on his jeans to the sound of leather cutting through air. Grabbing it with both hands he doubled it, stretching it out with a little crack before doubling it again, slowly letting it travel from the space between Blaine's shoulders to rest on his ass.

Blaine stilled for a second, turning his head to the side. "What are you doing?" The voice was audibly a little shaky in comparison to the low, husky one from moments before.

Letting the belt fall to the floor, Puck splayed a hand against the small of Blaine's back, letting the other give his shoulder a little squeeze as he leaned to kiss the back of his neck. "Nothing."

Blaine took a deep breath through his nose. "Ok."

After another kiss, Puck placed both hands on the shoulders of the man underneath him. "Turn around."

Blaine was met with a warm smile as he did; trying his best to shake the look of uneasiness from his face. He smiled back, reaching down to unzip Puck's fly who in turn pulled off his jeans and underwear, as he kicked off his own boxers completely.

"I'm sorry." The whisper came softly against Blaine's neck.

"Don't worry about it."

"I was only playing around…"

Blaine interrupted him by reaching his head up to steal a quick kiss. "I know... I know."

Soon slick fingers were working on him, arching his back against the hand as another had a steady hold on his pulled up knee.

"You're the hottest thing in the world, you know..." At first Puck slid in carefully, but soon the thrusts started coming harder, faster.

"Oh…"

"Like it..?" Puck stilled for just a second as he looked down, searching for Blaine's eyes somewhere in the dark.

Again, Blaine reached his head up to capture Pucks lips with his own. "Love it…"

* * *

Blaine stretched out his arms as far as he could on the limited space allotted to him, on the bed that was a bit smaller than the one he was used to sharing at home. Sunlight seeping in through the window lit the room up, highlighting Puck's sleeping figure beside him seemingly dead to the rest of the world.

As carefully as he could, Blaine climbed over the dead weight next to him on the bed and jumped to the floor, deciding that he was a lot more awake than the sleepyhead formerly known as Puck. He grabbed a fresh t-shirt from his bag as well as a pair of pants, pulling them on to go downstairs.

"Good morning, there! Glad to see you're up." Blaine was greeted with a hot cup of coffee the second he entered the kitchen, Victoria urging him to sit down at the breakfast table she was preparing.

"Good morning." He smiled up at her over his shoulder from where he sat, watching her rinse some blueberries before coming over to sit in front of him, her own cup of coffee in her hands.

"Did you sleep well?"

He nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "Yes."

"Good. So I'm the only one around here who can't sleep anywhere but in my own bed." Sunshine filled the homey kitchen, igniting a little glimmer in her eyes as she smiled.

"Puck doesn't seem to be having any problems either in that department. Although I guess this is also his own bed."

"So, tell me." Victoria leaned a little closer over the table, lowering her voice just a little. "Did he ever sneak you in while I was sleeping when you two were in High School?"

Blaine laughed warmly, looking into his cup. "I wish… But, no."

"Alright then." She leaned back, letting her laughter mirror his.

Swiveling the contents in his cup around a little, he stole a quick glance. "Can I ask you something? That I've kind of been wondering about."

"Sure."

He cleared his throat, a hand scratching lightly against his chin before moving down again to hold the cup with both hands. "Puck didn't tell you anything about my ex?"

Victoria shrugged, putting her elbows on the table.

"How did you..?"

"It takes one to know one."

Blaine nodded, mostly to himself as he still seemed visibly confused. "A what?"

Shrugging again, Victoria lent him a comforting smile. "I don't know. A 'survivor'? A fighter?"

Leaning back in his chair, Blaine let out a soft, ironic laughter. "If I had been better at fighting maybe things would have been a little different."

"Maybe. But probably not. You know what I mean."

He nodded, looking up once more. "Yes."

"Did you live with him?"

"For a while. Yes."

"Did he drink?"

"He didn't 'drink'-drink, if that makes any sense? But he would only do something when he had been drinking."

Victoria nodded, taking a deep breath before continuing. "My husband… Ex, husband. He was the loveliest man in the world in the beginning. For years. Especially when he was sober. But at some point it was as if something shifted. He lost his job, maybe because he was drinking too much or perhaps he took to drinking because he lost his job. The responsibility of being a father, paying for a household."

Listening attentively, Blaine found it difficult to focus his vision on anything other than the little breadcrumb on the otherwise spotless table in front of him.

"Towards the end he would disappear, for weeks at a time sometimes. I guess it was a sense of relief in a way, things were peaceful around here when he was gone. But I would miss him, want him to come back to his family. And he was always sorry. So, so sorry." There was a silence as she concentrated on finding Blaine's eyes, eventually succeeding as he took a deep breath, understanding the look on her face.

"He was really charming. Mark, that's his name. He was never a big drinker, we'd go out and have a good time a lot, it was nice. It just sort of fit. I felt really, really comfortable around him. Had no idea he had a temper until we moved in together, and from then on I guess I sort of just rolled with the punches." Blaine chuckled at his unintentional choice of words before turning somber once more. "One day, you just wake up and realize that if you don't do something soon you're going to be all alone in the world, everything becomes a part of this great lie and you go through such lengths trying to protect the only person who is consciously hurting you. And then there's no one to protect you but yourself. Because nobody knows." He looked up, softly shaking his head in disbelief. "I never used to be a liar. And all I'm left with is this great shame that I can't shake off. This wasn't supposed to happen to me. But I let it happen to me."

Victoria shook her head, squeezing the hand she had found resting on the table at some point while he was speaking. "I went to some group counseling around the time when he left. For the last time. There was a very sweet nurse at the hospital urging me to go. Once and a while there would be a man there. Not often, but I think I met two, throughout the years I went. I don't think it's easier, or worse. But I suppose it's a little different, while exactly the same at the same time. But every case is different and the same in some ways."

"I don't think it was that different for me, I guess." Blaine gave the hand a little squeeze back. "It's nice to talk to someone else for a change." He smiled at her as they let go. "And it's nice to listen." He said, nodding mostly to himself. "It's good to listen."

* * *

Back at home, Blaine sat in their regular booth at the regular bar scanning the menu while waiting for his beer and for his boyfriend to arrive.

Like clockwork, a tall guy with a goofy grin slid in next to him.

"Hi, Sebastian."

"Hi there, sugar." Sebastian winked at him, stealing the menu from his hands.

"I thought you were going to stop hitting on me." Yanking the menu back, Blaine looked over the burger options.

"I said I would stop actively trying to sleep with you, but how the hell can I be near all of this and not say things like 'sugar'?"

"Right…"

A waitress came over to their booth. "Can I take your order?"

"I'll wait with the food." Blaine said, throwing a glance at the door only to see that it wasn't Puck entering the bar.

"Two beers." Holding up two fingers, Sebastian felt a hand on his arm.

"I already ordered a beer."

The taller man looked at the waitress, notepad ready in her hand. "Then put his on my tab."

Blaine shook his head. "No, it's fine. Don't put it on his tab."

"Alright…" The waitress made a note, walking off towards the bar.

Realizing he was still holding onto Sebastian's arm, Blaine withdrew his hand. "I don't want you paying for me all the time."

"Why not?" He looked sincerely confused, and almost a little hurt.

"Because…"

"Because?"

"I'll still have a beer with you, even if you don't get it for me."

There was a short silence, sort of throwing Sebastian off for a second before he recomposed himself, continuing. "That wasn't my concern. I'm irresistible, even the most loyal of puppies can't help but stray towards me."

"I'm not going to stray or whatever the hell you're going on about. But I'll have a beer with you. Maybe two. Then you can get us some shots if you want." Blaine chuckled, smile turning even brighter as he saw his boyfriend make his way through the little crowd, sliding into the booth to sit in front of them.

"Hey Puck."

Puck made his eyes wide, looking at Blaine with a surprised expression. "I think that's the first time he got my name right."

"I think you're right." Still smiling, Blaine nodded his head as their beers arrived, Puck ordering one for himself as he took a look at the menu as Sam sat down next to him.

"I didn't know you were coming." Blaine brought his hand up to give Sam a little fist bump over the table, who returned the gesture while looking at the character in front of him.

"I didn't know he was coming…"

Sebastian leaned on his elbows, resting on the table. "Ah, blondie. Always the refreshingly respectful gentleman."

"If you ask him he'll get you drinks all night." Blaine chimed in.

"Yeah?" Sam put on a smirk, addressing Sebastian. "How about you get me a beer, twink?"

Throwing a wink his way, Sebastian leaned back in the booth. "For spending the majority of your free time hanging around with gay men, your queer vocab is surprisingly subpar. Obviously I am way too mature to be a twink, but sure. I'll get you a beer." He stood up and walked off into the direction of the bar.

Nodding to himself, Sam watched him walk away. "I might be able to get used to this."

And eventually, very much to everyone's surprise, he actually did.

_**FIN**_

* * *

_Thanks once again for reading, hope you enjoyed!_


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